Click here to watch Blair's farewell video


Monday, March 12, 2007

One of our sock-puppets is missing!

The blog Coming Out From Under was abandoned a few weeks ago. If you visit the URL http://comingoutfromunder.blogspot.com/ right now, you are redirected to a porn/search website using this hidden redirection technique (in fact, this same affiliate scheme).

If, like politicalopinions.co.uk, you use this website for syndicated content, you will want to cut the feed and remove the single bait entry uploaded by the spammers:

screenshot from politicalopinions.co.uk

If, like Iain Dale, you currently carry a link to Coming Out From Under on your blogroll, you will want to:

a) remove this link from your blogroll
b) send a spam complaint
c) beware of faux-outrage

If you feature this link on your website, right now, through no fault of your own, you will be promoting a website that is designed to earn high search results for 'barnsley england gay', and - lookie here - the technique works:

screenshot from Google

The page now hosted at http://comingoutfromunder.blogspot.com/ redirects visitors to the following URL:
http://taxfreeporn.com/foradults/?id=gay%20sex

[Sidebar: 'Tax Free Porn for Adults' sounds like a great collaborative project for Paul Staines and Iain Dale, no?]

So, if you have this link on your blogroll, you are not only sending traffic to a gay porn website, you are promoting a gay porn website in search engines.

Manic thinks it is pretty clear how such a thing could be capitalised on with a little misdirection.

Remove. Report. Beware.

'Member it.

Irony: Out from Under's strapline was a quote from Honest Abe Lincoln: "To sin by silence when they should protest makes cowards of men."

Background: The site formerly held at this URL is described here. Out From Under can also be seen piling on during the Piper/blackface attack here and here. If you're wondering why the mysterious 'Out From Under' abandoned his (or her) weblog to the mercy of hijackers, you can work it out for yourself by reading the last three posts (and associated comments), which are mirrored below:

Out From Under [archived]: If this isn't obsessive I don't know what is
Out From Under [archived]: This is what homophobia looks like Tim
Out From Under [archived]: Goodbye

Manic has spoken. End communication.

38 Comments:

dizzy said...

Are you saying that you have a problem with gay porn?

1:23 PM, March 12, 2007  
Guido 2.0 said...

Dizzy, please read posts before commenting on them:

"Manic thinks it is pretty clear how such a thing could be capitalised on with a little misdirection."

This is a clear statement of concern about how such a thing could be used... if, for example, one were a partisan hypocrite.

PS - Are you saying you have no problem with spam?

1:33 PM, March 12, 2007  
dizzy said...

A clear as mud.

As to spam, I hate it, spam and anyone who engages in email related denial of service attacks are scum of the earth. But then I work in the industry and have to deal with, and fix the mess that they cause.

Of course you know all about that sort of mess given you have, in the past, openly encouraged a Denial of Service attack on someones mailbox and then boasted about it with much merriment when it started bouncing mail because it was full.

2:27 PM, March 12, 2007  
Guido 2.0 said...

Link please.

2:32 PM, March 12, 2007  
dizzy said...

Lazy cunt. You wrote it, find it yourself.

2:41 PM, March 12, 2007  
Guido 2.0 said...

You cited it, you produce it.

2:44 PM, March 12, 2007  
dizzy said...

Why should I, you and I know exactly where it is and what you said. You're work in SEO, you are a professional spammer, you openly boasted on Bloggerheads about how people should let their comments be knwon and then boasted about how someone's mailbox was full.

Luckily you're not relaying mail yourself in these games so you're bnot breaking NTL's abuse policy, but you could be considered to be breaking Fasthosts.

Incidentally I'm only posting comments because I think it's fucking hilarious that who works in professional manipulation of online marketing would have the barefaced cheek to talk about spam being wrong.

2:56 PM, March 12, 2007  
dizzy said...

lots of shit typos there from me.

3:01 PM, March 12, 2007  
Guido 2.0 said...

Well, now we're getting waaaay off-topic, but it's illuminating so:

1. You brought it up. Bring forth a link.

2. I struggle to see how what I do can be considered spam. Real people voluntarily support a page/site and its performance improves in search engines as a result.

3:01 PM, March 12, 2007  
dizzy said...

Not off-tiopic at all. You started a thread about spamming and search engine manipulation. That's the exact part of the industry you work in.

1: Fuck off. You can prove the negative instead. If it's good for you to use as an argument then its good for me to use it at you in reverse.

2: Utter bollocks and you fucking well know it. SEO is anything but voluntary, it's based on cynical manipulation which is why it's such a competetive and lucrative market.

3:07 PM, March 12, 2007  
Guido 2.0 said...

"That's the exact part of the industry you work in"

Oh, fuck off yourself. And take your extra-wide smearing bursh with you.

You made the claim. Produce the evidence and we can take it from there.

3:17 PM, March 12, 2007  
dizzy said...

Oooooh touchy! Doesn't take much to get you in a tizzy does it? Don't worry I'm fucking off now, I have grown bored of you anyway.

3:27 PM, March 12, 2007  
Lobster Blogster said...

Is Dizzy a libertarian, per chance. He/she seems to use the same liberal interpretation of logic as the doughty band of freedom fighters.

3:31 PM, March 12, 2007  
Guido 2.0 said...

Come back any time, Dizzy.

Oh, and rest assured that no-one will ever think that you only came over here for a shit-stir because Out From Under was one of your blogroll chums.

3:32 PM, March 12, 2007  
Political Opinions said...

Thanks for drawing this to my attention, the blog has been completely removed from the Political Opinions site.

You wouldn't believe how many spam blogs get added to the site, so far none of these have made it through on to the site but its extremely hard to keep track of existing sites that get overtaken by spam.

Thanks,

Grant

4:10 PM, March 12, 2007  
Guido 2.0 said...

Hi Grant.

Manic is happy to help - and he apologises for not emailing you directly as he meant to do.

(bows)

4:25 PM, March 12, 2007  
no to torytv. said...

an agitated nervous character.

i saw a chap once on ToryTV claiming to be the Tory blogger-DIZZY. and he made me very very uncomfortable.

4:59 PM, March 12, 2007  
Guido 2.0 said...

no to torytv: Tut tut tut. We do not tolerate briefing here. And before you ask, Manic is sure that the sight of Dizzy standing outside a playground would not raise a single eyebrow.

5:04 PM, March 12, 2007  
John Angliss said...

Is it actually possible to prove you haven't made a DOS attack, Tim?

5:22 PM, March 12, 2007  
Guido 2.0 said...

(dodges question)

5:29 PM, March 12, 2007  
dizzy said...

w00t! accused of lowest common denominator in blog comment! I have arrived!

8:07 PM, March 12, 2007  
Ian said...

To be fair to Steve/Out From Under, he did seem to be capable of independent expression, however foam-flecked, rather than being an out-and-out sock-puppet. I just think he backed the wrong horse. So Out From Under now links to a gay porn site? It's what he would have wanted, I'm sure...

In the interests of disclosure, I used (until embarrassingly recently) to carry a link to Out From Under, but only as part of my Blogpower obligations, rather than because I liked what he used to write: the delay in deleting the link should show how often I clicked it. I hasten to add we're not all loony right-wingers with posters of Iain Dale on our bedroom walls and straplines praising Thatcher... Despite current appearances, membership of Blogpower is open to all, and the balance could do with redressing.

2:20 AM, March 13, 2007  
Guido 2.0 said...

Hello Ian.

Manic must admit to being hesitant about Blogpower, not least because he fears that some Tories are using the issue of free speech in a very dishonest way.

Speaking of which, the latest blog to fall victim to the blog-spammers is http://disillusionedandbored.blogspot.com/ - former home of the 'voluntary code free zone'.

Not that the former owner can complain about that. Spammers have the right to freedom of expression too... right?

8:39 AM, March 13, 2007  
not_saussure said...

Thanks for the tip, Manic. Like Ian, I had Out From Under on the Blogpower blogroll, but I've now removed him.

12:51 PM, March 13, 2007  
Citizen Andreas said...

I believe that this is the offending post to which Dizzy refers.

6:20 PM, March 13, 2007  
Guido 2.0 said...

OK, let's check with Dizzy.

Dizzy, is this the post you were talking about?

(cc email)

6:32 PM, March 13, 2007  
Ian said...

Manic must admit to being hesitant about Blogpower, not least because he fears that some Tories are using the issue of free speech in a very dishonest way.

I wouldn't argue with the general point, but do you have any specific concerns about Blogpower members?

6:46 PM, March 13, 2007  
Guido 2.0 said...

Members as in 'we created Blogpower' or members as in 'we have a button for Blogpower'?

If the latter, then yes.

6:53 PM, March 13, 2007  
Ian said...

I had in mind the latter, given that almost every member carries the banner, but I appreciate you drawing the distinction.

I should say at this point that for a fortnight or so, I've not had nearly as much time as I normally get to read blogs, including some of the newer additions to the roll, so I'm not being deliberately naive in my questions.

7:24 PM, March 13, 2007  
Guido 2.0 said...

Your sensitivity is appreciated, Ian.

:o)

7:33 PM, March 13, 2007  
Yog Brother said...

Manic, you've made the mistake in thinking Dizzy might be different from Iain Dale or Guido or Praguetory when in fact he's using the same playbook.

Namely, if lacking the intellectual muscle or courage of your convictions to front up to an argument, simply shut down the debate or refuse to engage on any terms other than your own. Or delete the comments. Or, of course, reach for your lawyer.

8:04 AM, March 14, 2007  
dizzy said...

Justin, there is no argument to "front up", I made it already. Tim Ireland engages in professional legalised spamming. In this case though, he went a step further by actively encouraging and then taking pleasure in seeing someone's mailbox fill up.

No matter which way you dress it up, that is a Denial of Service Attack. Service was denied as a result of his actions, which he then made merriment of.

Now I have to go and write code and fix a number of mail servers that have been fucked up by people in the same industry that Tim works in. Can you sense the professional antipathy I have against the activities of people of his ilk?

9:15 AM, March 14, 2007  
Justin said...

Dizzy, I wonder how strong this 'professional' antipathy would be if it were Iain Dale or Guido fucking up your servers. Both are masters of the unsolicited email - sorry - spam. I could cite you chapter and verse having been on the receiving end of many from both of them before I was regarded as no longer useful to either.

State your case in black and white if you don't want it to be regarded as partisan smears and sock-puppetry. You look like you're peddling nasty innuendos, like some party political hack. Go on, show us you can think and act for yourself.

Or maybe you don't care. You should try politics professionally, mate.

10:12 AM, March 14, 2007  
dizzy said...

If I discovered Iain or Guido were fucking servers up with spamming I would be equally as vocal. Especially if they were my fucking servers. And anyway, spam is far greater than just email these days, as this very post is trying to point out.

I have stated my case in black and white though. Tim Ireland encouraged and then laughed at a Denial of Service incident against someones mailbox. It's pretty bloody straight forward even for someone with only an elementary understanding of the inter-networking. It's not like you have understand frame relay and ATM switching to get it for christ sake.

I also fail to see how stating, in plain and simple terms, that I consider Ireland a legalised spammer and cynical manipulator of the web is an "innuendo" either. Just because you say it is an innuendo doesn't make it so you know. It's pretty plain and fucking simple really if you engage your brain and listen to what I am saying.

I consider the industry in which Tim Ireland works to be the scourge and scum of the Internet. They're all wankers who waste bandwidth and think there is nothing wrong with what they do.

As for acting for myself, what the fuck do you think I am doing right this minute? Working for Iain and Guido?

What you have to realise is that when it comes to the industry in which Tim works I really do just hate them. What's more, when I see one of them start banging on about how "spam is bad mmkay" I'm not going to sit by and say nothing.

Anyhow, why on earth would I want to try professional politics? It pays shit and I don't get to code and fuck around with stupidly expensive and powerful machines. Give me an 8-way Sparc core, or 16x * dual core AMD64 and I'm in fucking heaven.... mate.

11:01 AM, March 14, 2007  
Guido 2.0 said...

Going to ask you to pull up *right* there, gents.

Manic asks this only so he can finish a related post before addressing this matter.

11:14 AM, March 14, 2007  
an observer. said...

(getting down to ) nitty gritty is fun.


power to the people. :)

12:05 PM, March 14, 2007  
Justin said...

'It pays shit and I don't get to code and fuck around with stupidly expensive and powerful machines. Give me an 8-way Sparc core, or 16x * dual core AMD64 and I'm in fucking heaven.... mate.'

Don't get over-excited. You're a computer programmer, not a bloody Top Gun.

1:17 PM, March 14, 2007  
Guido 2.0 said...

*ping*


Waiting for you right here when you're ready, Dizzy.

Hope you don't mind conducting the rest of this exchange somewhere where only registered users are allowed to play. Email is out, obviously.. and given your proven history of sock-puppetry, Manic would like to be certain of who he is talking to.

1:53 PM, March 14, 2007  

Post a Comment

Links to this post:

Create a Link

<< Home